Fury has embarrassed himself by pulling out of Price fight but it's British boxing fans who are the real losers

Tyson Fury's last minute withdrawal from the purse bidding for a British heavyweight title fight against David Price comes as an unwelcome reminder of how losing is increasingly viewed as a crime in modern boxing.

The worry that a single defeat might ruin a career is robbing the prize-ring of so many of the exciting match-ups the hard old game needs to keep the public on the boil and business booming.

The biggest loss to the hardest game, of course, has been the failure of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to get it on in the first $200 million bonanza. It could still happen but that currency has been devalued as much by the aging process as by the PacMan’s shock KO by Juan Manuel Marquez.

Blow: Tyson Fury (L) pulled out of purse bids to face fellow British heavyweight David Price

Price versus Fury had been brewing into the tastiest heavyweight battle of Britain since Lennox Lewis fought Frank Bruno.

Before Fury pulled the plug, it would
have been worth reminding him that Bruno came back from that defeat to
win the world title he craved. And for that matter that Lewis became
the world’s dominant heavyweight despite getting knocked out a couple
of times himself.

Nor, even though Price would have
started as favourite, was it inconceivable that Fury would have landed
a KO of his own in a collision between these two hefty punchers.

I do not believe it was fear which
drove Fury to pull out. He is a fighter by instinct. Rather, it was the
uncertainty of what might happen to his chances of a world championship
challenge if he were to lose.

What a pity. The esteem of both men could have been enhanced by a full-blooded fight.

Carl Froch is current proof of how
one lost battle in his case against Mikkel Kessler – can lead to other
world title opportunities and subsequently to an enriching re-match.

Team Fury have explained that they
prefer to take an alternative route to challenging Wladimir Klitschko.
So Tyson will now fight an American who is past his prime.

So too, on February 23, will Price.

The likelihood is that the Klitschko
camp – who are running out of opponents for not only Wladimir but also
Vitali should he decide to delay his retirement – are encouraging the
big Brits to stay undefeated so that both may be slotted into their
schedule in the year ahead.

Alright, that makes good business sense. But it does nothing to excite the crowds in the meantime.
It also leaves Fury in a somewhat invidious position following his
foul-mouthed insulting of Price, who he accused of cowardice. The only
possible mitigation for those vile tweets would have been to drum up
interest in their fight. Not that it would have needed much selling.

Now, by pulling out, he has embarrassed himself.

Strange, this, because Tyson the
Traveller is a nice guy with a big heart. So perhaps one of his team did
‘borrow’ his cell phone to send the most unpleasant of those messages, a
claim which has helped him to stave off sanction by the British boxing
authorities.

Price, meanwhile, has continued to
conduct himself with dignity and restraint, even though Fury’s
withdrawal has left him without a viable opponent against whom to fulfil
his ambition of winning a Lonsdale belt outright.

Best of British: A bout between Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg (R) has the potential to be a ring classic

Hopefully, both men will get their
Klitschko shot in the not-too-distant future. But while we are awaiting
Fury might care to check records which will inform him that not only
our Lennox but Muhammad Ali lost, Joe Louis lost, Joe Frazier lost and
Mike Tyson lost.

That and reflect that if he never
fights Price the British boxing fans will be the real losers – and he
will lose much of their respect.

Hopefully Carl Frampton, having
impressed in knocking out European super-bantamweight champion Kiko
Matinez on Saturday, and British title-holder Scott Quigg will show Fury
the way. A bout between these two has the potential to be a British
classic.

Brook must keep in shape despite Alexander title bout KO

It is frustrating for Kell Brook that, after all those weeks of training, Devon Alexander has pulled out of their world welterweight title fight.

All the more so since there are suggestions that the American champion did so in case Floyd Mayweather goes through with an offer of a far bigger pay day in May than he would have received in Detroit on Saturday week.

Alexander cited a torn bicep but has kept the door open for a new date to fight Brook in April. His promoters, Golden Boy, report themselves in the dark about Mayweather's approach and the

Frustration: Kell Brook's world title fight against Devon Alexander has been hooked

Money Man is still more widely expected to face Robert Guerrero in Las Vegas, his first fight since his short spell in prison last year.

Alexander also faces being stripped of his world title by the IBF if he fights Mayweather instead of fulfilling this mandatory defence against Sheffield's Special K.

In his angst, Brook needs to remember that the first postponement of the biggest fight in his career came when it was he who pulled out with a twisted ankle... after Alexander had trained for the occasion.

That was a marginal decision based on the assessment that the loss of a week or two's training time would have left Brook in less than perfect condition. Perhaps he regrets it now.

On the line: Devon Alexander will have to vacate his title should he opt to face Floyd Mayweather before fighting Brook

As Carl Froch reminded us last week at the official launch for his re-match with Mikkel Kessler: 'Injuries are part of boxing and mostly you have to get on with it.

'When Mikkel lost to Joe Calzaghe he went into the fight with injections in a broken hand.'

Brook will get his chance, be it against Alexander or for the vacant title.

Meanwhile, he should vent his irritation on his sparring partners and keep in shape... and out of the night clubs.

Quote of the Week

Gavin Rees as he prepares for his world lightweight title shot against Ameican prodigy Adrien Broner in Atlantic City this Saturday night: 'I'm sparring with some tough lads in New York although I don't understand a word of their street talk. But they don't understand what I say. Then again I can't blame 'em. My accent is so thick that most people in Wales don't understand me.'

Fight time: Gavin 'The Rock' Rees will take on highly-rated American Adrien Broner in Atlantic City this weekend